The last century was the "American Century" and the century before that the "British Century" and, arguably, the century before that the "French Century." What will this century be? Probably the "American Century Redux," possibly the "Indian Century" or the "Chinese Century," but more likely the "America-Japanese" or even "Japanese-American" century. Very, very quietly, one ally besides Great Britain has remained stalwart in the war on global terrorism: Japan. Very, very quietly, the third largest economy in the world has become to rev up again. Soon, very quietly, Japan will begin to rearm. Or so we should hope.

The relationship between Japan and America is unique. Japan and America are the last two nations to become "great powers." Japan virtually exploded from a backward nation into a modern, industrialized and advanced society. No nation, including America, has ever grown so far so fast. After the Second World War, Japan underwent a dramatic social change, and this propelled a second economic boom.

Japan and America are the two largest truly functioning, western-style democracies in the world (India is too filled with ethnic strife and state tolerated religious intolerance to be counted in this category.) Both Japan and America are oceanic nations, along with Britain the only oceanic nations in the world. Is it a coincidence that Japan and Britain have been our strongest allies in the world on terror? No.

The Japanese people can look at North Korea, Russia and China with nothing but dread. Allowing a corrupt government in Moscow to intimidate a much richer and more advanced society as simply not acceptable over the long run. Allowing a madman in Pyongyang to threaten Japan, even in the short run, is not acceptable. Allowing China to squash freedom in Hong Kong and Taiwan is also not acceptable. The recent maniacal antics of the porn-loving monster god of North Korea not only can, but has, changed the attitude of the Japanese people and Japanese government.

What is not acceptable to Japan should also not be acceptable to America. We should want a thriving, pluralistic cluster of functioning and peaceful democracies in East Asia. While other nations, notably India, has the same general interest, India is non-aligned. It views itself as more a rival of America than an ally.

Japan, however, is emphatically our ally. The blood spilled in the horrific Pacific War sixty years ago has not been forgotten, but it has been molded into something other than hate: it has created a very genuine and deep respect. Both peoples grossly underestimated the other. Neither peoples make the same mistake twice. Japan has two priceless advantages which no other American ally possess.

First, Japanese technology is second to none. The smart or brilliant weapons which can make Honshu and Houston both safe from long range weapons are within the grasp of Japan and of America and, perhaps, of no one else. Japan wants any future war to be identical to any future war we envision: high tech, low casualty, quick victory. That will not change. Indeed, as Japan is compelled to pursue military technology, Japanese technology may well surpass the world and easily outstrip still corrupt and oligarchic China.

Second, Japan is a homogenous society - the largest homogenous society, in fact, on Earth - which makes it particularly immune to indigenous terrorists with foreign allegiances. There is no place on the planet less likely for a young, suicidal Moslem to plant himself in a critical place to do maximum damage. America will, inevitably, do better than any other democracies in fighting and winning the war against illegal immigration, but Japan will never even have to fight the battle: it is the most secure major nation in preventing illegal immigration, and there is no political downside in Japan toward securing Japanese culture indefinitely.

The dying Marxists regimes in China, Pyongyang, Havana and Hanoi, along with the Moslem and Arab street of anti-American, anti-Jewish, anti-Christian and anti-Israeli malcontents, and even the decadent democracies of Europe may soon wish that they did not awaken the Eagle and the Sun. In thirty years, all that may matter in geopolitics is what Tokyo and Washington – capitals of nations that simply wished to live in peace - dictate to a vain, corrupt, lazy and decadent world. The next century may well be Pax Nippon-American Century.

Bruce Walker has been a published author in print and in electronic media since 1990. He is a contributing editor to Enter Stage Right and a regular contributor to Conservative Truth, American Daily, Intellectual Conservative, Web Commentary, NewsByUs and Men's News Daily. His first book, Sinisterism: Secular Religion of the Lie by Outskirts Press was published in January 2006.